Skip to content
Hindi News, हिंदी समाचार, Samachar, Breaking News, Latest Khabar – Pratirodh

Hindi News, हिंदी समाचार, Samachar, Breaking News, Latest Khabar – Pratirodh

Primary Menu Hindi News, हिंदी समाचार, Samachar, Breaking News, Latest Khabar – Pratirodh

Hindi News, हिंदी समाचार, Samachar, Breaking News, Latest Khabar – Pratirodh

  • Home
  • Newswires
  • Politics & Society
  • The New Feudals
  • World View
  • Arts And Aesthetics
  • For The Record
  • About Us
  • Featured

Dismissed As ‘Poor Things’, 3 Women Try To Unseat Belarus’ President

Jul 22, 2020 | Pratirodh Bureau

From left: Veronika Tsepkalo making a ‘V’ for victory sign, Svetlana Tikhanouskaya clenching her fist and Maria Kolesnikova making a heart sign attend a news conference in Minsk, Belarus on July 17, 2020

Dismissed by the incumbent as too fragile to run Belarus because of their gender, three women have joined forces to try to unseat President Alexander Lukashenko, a man the United States once called Europe’s last dictator.

Lukashenko, who has ruled the country for over a quarter of a century, has cracked down to try to snuff out rare and sustained protests against him ahead of a presidential election next month, jailing rivals and arresting dissenters.

He faces his biggest challenge in years due to frustration over his hands-off handling of the coronavirus pandemic and grievances over the economy and human rights.

With his male challengers either barred from running or in prison, two of their wives and a female campaign team member of another have united to try to beat him in the Aug. 9 election.

Svetlana Tikhanouskaya, whose husband, Syarhei, spent time in solitary confinement, has become the surprise leading challenger to Lukashenko, a 65-year-old former Soviet collective farm boss.

Tikhanouskaya launched her candidacy after her husband, a popular blogger who campaigned against Lukashenko, was arrested in May on what she says were trumped up charges.

Police say they also found an unexplained $900,000 hidden in their sofa. Tikhanouskaya said she knew nothing about the money.

Lukashenko is expected to extend his grip on power despite the challenge. Western observers do not judge elections in the country to be free and fair.

The EU delegation to non-EU member Belarus said in July that excluding two of Lukashenko’s election rivals “undermines the overall integrity and democratic nature of the elections”, while Europe’s election watchdog expressed concern about “key aspects of the electoral process”.

But a Lukashenko win may not quell public anger, say analysts, and Tikhanouskaya and her allies are well placed to continue to lead a protest movement.

As a candidate, Tikhanouskaya’s first priority is to free all political prisoners and rerun the elections to include all candidates who were barred from standing.

SELFIES IN THE STREET

By Sunday, holding a bouquet of flowers in her left hand and punching the air with her right, she was standing on stage having amassed the largest opposition election rally Belarus has seen in decades.

The people of Belarus “do not want to live in misery anymore, they want to live in a free country where they do not grab people in the street, put them into a police van and then send them to jail for an invented reason”, she said.

Tikhanouskaya’s challenge is being supported by two other women who represent two different opposition campaigns.

They are Maria Kolesnikova, a member of the campaign team for Viktor Babariko, who was detained and accused of financial misdeeds, and Veronika Tsepkalo, wife of Valery Tsepkalo, a former ambassador to the United States who was barred from standing after the central election commission disallowed some of the signatures he needed to collect to become a candidate.

An image of the three women posing for the camera – Tikhanouskaya clenching her fist, Kolesnikova making a heart sign, and Tsepkalo making a ‘V’ for victory sign, has quickly spread.

They attend events together, sparking jokes that they resemble a female rock band and people ask for selfies in the street.

Lukashenko has said he respects women but that “society is not mature enough to vote for a woman”. The burden of the presidency would cause her to “collapse, poor thing”, he said.

After receiving an anonymous threat that her children would be taken away if she pressed on with her campaign, Tikhanouskaya has sent them abroad to an undisclosed location.

Tags: Belarus, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, Belarus presidential election, coronavirus, coronavirus pandemic, Maria Kolesnikova, Pratirodh, Svetlana Tikhanouskaya, Veronika Tsepkalo

Continue Reading

Previous Global Coronavirus Cases Exceed 15 Million
Next India Reports Record 45,720 New Coronavirus Cases

More Stories

  • Featured

Elgar Parishad Case Accused Dr Hany Babu To Get Honorary Doctorate

7 hours ago Pratirodh Bureau
  • Featured

The Mythical Saraswati Is A Subterranean Flow, Posits New Study

11 hours ago Shalini
  • Featured

Will Challenge ‘Erroneous’ Judgment Against Rahul Gandhi: Congress

14 hours ago Pratirodh Bureau

Recent Posts

  • Elgar Parishad Case Accused Dr Hany Babu To Get Honorary Doctorate
  • The Mythical Saraswati Is A Subterranean Flow, Posits New Study
  • Will Challenge ‘Erroneous’ Judgment Against Rahul Gandhi: Congress
  • Calls For ‘Green’ Ramadan Revive Islam’s Ethic Of Sustainability
  • Huge Data Breach: Details Of 16.8 Cr Citizens, Defence Staff Leaked
  • Will Rahul Gandhi Be Disqualified As MP Now?
  • ‘Ganga, Brahmaputra Flows To Reduce Due To Global Warming’
  • Iraq War’s Damage To Public Trust Continues To Have Consequences
  • Sikh Community In MP Cities Protests Against Pro-Khalistan Elements
  • ‘Rahul Must Be Allowed To Speak In Parliament, Talks Can Follow’
  • 26% Of World Lacks Clean Drinking Water, 46% Sanitation: UN
  • ‘Severe Consequences’ Of Further Warming In Himalayas: IPCC
  • NIA Arrests Kashmiri Journalist, Mufti Says This Is Misuse Of UAPA
  • BJP Is Just A Tenant, Not Owner Of Democracy: Congress
  • Livable Future Possible If Drastic Action Taken This Decade: IPCC Report
  • Significant Human Rights Issues In India, Finds US Report
  • Bhopal Gas Tragedy: NGOs Upset Over Apex Court Ruling
  • Kisan Mahapanchayat: Thousands Of Farmers Gather In Delhi
  • Nations Give Nod To Key UN Science Report On Climate Change
  • AI: The Real Danger Lies In Anthropomorphism

Search

Main Links

  • Home
  • Newswires
  • Politics & Society
  • The New Feudals
  • World View
  • Arts And Aesthetics
  • For The Record
  • About Us

Related Stroy

  • Featured

Elgar Parishad Case Accused Dr Hany Babu To Get Honorary Doctorate

7 hours ago Pratirodh Bureau
  • Featured

The Mythical Saraswati Is A Subterranean Flow, Posits New Study

11 hours ago Shalini
  • Featured

Will Challenge ‘Erroneous’ Judgment Against Rahul Gandhi: Congress

14 hours ago Pratirodh Bureau
  • Featured

Calls For ‘Green’ Ramadan Revive Islam’s Ethic Of Sustainability

14 hours ago Pratirodh Bureau
  • Featured

Huge Data Breach: Details Of 16.8 Cr Citizens, Defence Staff Leaked

1 day ago Pratirodh Bureau

Recent Posts

  • Elgar Parishad Case Accused Dr Hany Babu To Get Honorary Doctorate
  • The Mythical Saraswati Is A Subterranean Flow, Posits New Study
  • Will Challenge ‘Erroneous’ Judgment Against Rahul Gandhi: Congress
  • Calls For ‘Green’ Ramadan Revive Islam’s Ethic Of Sustainability
  • Huge Data Breach: Details Of 16.8 Cr Citizens, Defence Staff Leaked
Copyright © All rights reserved. | CoverNews by AF themes.